NEW YORK – Sean Brady won’t be deterred after suffering his first-career loss.
Brady (15-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) welcomes Kelvin Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) back to welterweight in his return at UFC on ESPN 52 Dec. 2 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Brady hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 in October 2022. He was forced to withdraw from two fights against Michel Pereira and Jack Della Maddalena due to injury and sickness, which has delayed his comeback.
“It’s been tough – fallouts, injuries, but I’m just staying the course,” Brady told MMA Junkie. “I was 15-0. I lost one fight. I know what I’m destined to do. I’m going to be a world champion, and I’ve just got to stay that course and take it one fight at a time.”
Brady’s loss came to Muhammad, who is on the cusp of title contention. He chalks off his performance to an off night mentally.
“The world’s not going to end when you lose,” Brady said. “I had this thing in my mind that the world was going to be over if I lost my undefeated record, and it’s not that serious. Yeah, fighting is a huge part of my life, but anybody can lose when you’re fighting the best guys in the world, especially.
“I’ve just got to believe in myself more. I kind of didn’t believe in all my skills that night. I kind of had a little mental lapse, but that will never happen again. I learned more from that loss than I did all of my wins, so it was very good for me and I’m honestly happy it happened.”
Brady hopes he can run things back with Muhammad one day and is confident he beats him if he gets his wish.
“I think if I fight Belal 10 times, he beat me that one, I’d beat him the other nine,” Brady said. “But I’m super happy for him to see where he’s at, and hopefully he’ll keep winning, I’ll keep winning, and we’ll get to do it again.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
